A federal appeals court panel has upheld the conviction and sentence of a University of Tennessee student in the hacking of Sarah Palin's email in 2008.

The three judge panel in a Monday decision affirmed the conviction of 24-year-old David Kernell. A Knoxville jury last April convicted Kernell of unauthorized access to a protected computer and destroying records to impede a federal investigation.

Kernell's attorney, Wade Davies, contended at trial that Kernell had no criminal intent and that guessing his way into the email account was a prank. Palin was governor of Alaska and John McCain's GOP running mate at the time.

Kernell was released in November after serving less than 11 months.

Davies said he will seek a review by the full U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.